Two Trees Swaying
by Gladewing
Summary: A remake of Rainfall, which I deleted just because I felt like it. Angsty and dramatic so don't look inside unless you're ready. Chapters dedicated to reviewers review replies at the top of chapters.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

There was no moonlight. No stars, no moon, not a single pinprick of light hung in the black sky. The landscape was lit up by an eerie, yellowish-green glow, cast by fungus that grew on the sides of tall black trees with broad, dark green leaves. In these trees, crouched in the shelter of a root, was a small, dappled silver she-cat, her blue eyes wide and her body shivering with terror. As pawsteps sounded on the ground, she shrank soundlessly further into the large, curved root.

But the cause of her terror found her nonetheless. A pale gray tom leaped up gracefully to the root and gazed down at her coldly. His fur was flecked with dark gray, and his eyes were a clear, icy blue.

The she-cat let out a tiny mewl of distress as the sickly light of the fungus touched his fur to white and he blazed before her, so powerful and handsome, so admirable, and yet so terrifying. For with his presence was always pain, and she could not understand it, no matter how hard she tried. She walked this place in her dreams, against her will; he _forced_ himself into her dreams. She was always brought here, and he always found her. Always.

Part of her hated him, down to her very soul, down to her very fiber of being. But part of her loved him, wished she could love him.

"Don't," she whispered.

But it happened anyway. It always did. He leapt down to her and within moments the pain came, and she couldn't fight it; this was his territory, his element. Here he knew what to do. He knew cruelty, and he knew love. Both of these things swirled together when he was with her.

Then the pain was over, and she lay trembling. He backed away. "I love you," he told her, like he did every night.

"I love you too," she whispered, like she whispered every night.

And he turned and padded away, and she admired the play of muscles under his pelt, and the confident sway of his tail, and how the eerie light of the fungus didn't turn him green, but blazing pale gray and white, and how his paws almost seemed to float above the ground.

One day, StarClan would find out, and she dreaded that day, just like she dreaded every night, and fought sleep so she would not come here, but eventually it claimed her, and half of her let it claim her, and brought her here willingly.

_Will I never get away?_


	2. One

A hard cuff across the ear sent the dappled she-cat sprawling. Shocked by the blow, she gazed up at the golden tabby that had dealt it, her eyes wide with hurt. Mothwing loomed over her, her face a storm cloud of fury as her shadow was cast over her small apprentice.

"That is the third time this morning," hissed Mothwing, her voice shaking with anger, "that I have caught you trying to give the wrong medicine to a cat. I understood the first time - you had just woken up. I let it pass the second time, thinking you were still tired. But you could not, could _not_ possibly still be tired. It is almost sunhigh, and Swallowtail does not need borage. She isn't having kits, and she doesn't have a fever to bring down. She needs coltsfoot. She is short of breath. Did I or did I not make that very clear to you in the elders' den when I was examining her?"

"I - I'm sorry, Mothwing -" stammered Willowpaw, her ears pinned back and a haunted look in her eyes.

"You will not go hunting today," Mothwing snapped. "And I will not allow you to go the Gathering tonight."

"But Mothwing!" her apprentice cried in horror. The Gathering - it was her only escape -

"You will stay in the back of the medicine den for the rest of the day," her mentor swept on in a rage, "and you will review the herbs that you were meant to pass out over and over again until you are sure that you have them correct. Before you do this,. you will retrieve some coltsfoot and take it to Swallowtail. If it is not coltsfoot, I will hear about it, and you will regret it."

Willowpaw had never seen Mothwing so angry. The golden tabby turned around and swept her tail furiously on the mossy nest outside the medicine den; she went around the pool in the roots of the medicine tree, then paraded away, her tail in the air. Reedwhisker saw her leave, and the black tomcat turned to gaze at Willowpaw questioningly, but with tears brimming in her eyes Willowpaw turned and dashed into the den. She sifted with blurry eyes through the herbs and finally found the small greenish leaves of the coltsfoot plant. Running as fast as she could, she dashed into the thicket that hid the elders' den, and lay the herbs at Swallowtail's paws.

"That's coltsfoot," she meowed quickly, keeping her gaze lowered, "it'll help with your breathing, I really have to go, you should - you should tell Mothwing how your breathing gets on -"

Without pause she headed back for the medicine den. Once she was safely inside, her tail drooped and she landed hard on the ground and began to sob.

But she choked on the tears when Mothwing entered again, and she quickly turned her head so her mentor couldn't see. Mothwing couldn't know where she went in her dreams, and why she was always tired nowadays.

Suddenly, Mothwing was speaking to her. "Your medicine cat name will be given to you soon," she meowed, her voice still cold. "I expect you to live up to it, because I will not turn it aside, or delay it. If you do not deserve it, it will be known." Willowpaw didn't look at her, but heard her pawsteps recede as she left.

Willowpaw gulped down her tears and turned to sift through the herbs with a halfhearted paw. Then, all of a sudden, she saw something, and smelled it at the same time.

Would this help her nighttime excursions? She would be confused and dazed, and she would not feel the pain as badly. But would it follow her into sleep? Leaning forward to breathe in the delicious, heady smell of the catmint, Willowpaw nodded. She would take some tonight, as a test.


	3. Two

**TawnyLeaf: You'll find out soon, I promise. In fact, this chapter!**

**Teh Pwnzor: Here's your update. XDD**

Willowpaw's eyes were blurred, and the edges of her vision were dimly lit by the yellow-green glow on the trees. In her confusion, she couldn't find a place to hide. She stumbled around like a lost kit trying to find its mother, but in the deep part of her mind that still thought with clarity, she was thinking that it was working - even in her dreamland, the catmint was working.

But his pawsteps were coming closer, and she turned to face him, bristling with fear. He let out a dark chuckle and came forward, rubbing his muzzle along her lower jawline and licking her cheek. "I'm glad to see you," he purred.

"And you," mumbled Willowpaw.

He rasped his tongue over her ear, and Willowpaw shivered, affected despite her better instincts. She flinched away from him, and in a moment of clarity she hissed, "You are a horrible cat."

The lick on her ear changed to a piercing nip, and she let out a soft wail. He kept his teeth in her ear until blood welled up and dripped down her face, then he let go and began to softly rasp his tongue across the wound.

"I'm not horrible," he told her. "I had a chance with another, but I lost her. Even though I am dead, I will not lose you. I will never lose you, because something will happen, and it will happen soon."

"What do you mean?" whispered Willowpaw. Already the catmint seemed to be fading. She had to take more next time! Unless...was he going to reveal something important? Something that would affect her Clan's future? Maybe she shouldn't blur her mind...

"I can't tell you yet," he murmured secretively.

"Please," she begged him, "don't do this to me."

He wound around her, curling his tail tightly around her hindleg, tightly enough that it was painful, so she could not get away. But as he ran his muzzle along her side, a voice came out of the darkness.

"Who is that?" the cat's voice demanded in a sharp, angry yowl.

"You know who it is, Hawkfrost." The pale gray tom lifted his head and glared defiantly through the trees. A dark tabby materialized there, his blue eyes icy cold.

"Willowpaw, is it? Of my very own Clan." Hawkfrost nodded with a sinister chuckle. "Good choice, Ashfur, to do what -"

"Not yet, Hawkfrost," Ashfur hissed. "When that piece of fox dung killed me, he lied about it, but that isn't going to cloud my judgement now. I'm not going to be like you, Hawkfrost. I'm going to take my time, and my love, my mate, my everything...Willowpaw is going to help me."

"Squirrelflight was your everything," Hawkfrost pointed out, clearly amused.

"She is nothing to me." With a jolt Willowpaw realized he was telling the truth. "She was, yes, but no longer. Her sons and daughter will pay as well."

"You fool. They aren't hers."

"But she and her mate think they are," Ashfur meowed.

Willowpaw realized who they were talking about. Squirrelflight's mate...Brambleclaw! Struggling through the haze that still remained from that catmint, Willowpaw tried to deduce what they were talking about. Then, with a terrible electric shock of horror, it dawned on her.

They were going to kill Lionpaw, Jaypaw, and Hollypaw.


	4. Three

Willowpaw turned tail and ran, not caring where she went, even as she went further and further into the dark forest in the Place of No Stars.

"Willowpaw!" Ashfur yowled, sounding anguished. She heard his light pawsteps chasing her, and knew he would catch her. A RiverClan cat had strong legs for swimming, but ThunderClanners were just naturally faster; and sure enough, he bowled her over a moment later, pinning her on her back with his forepaws, and over his shoulder Willowpaw saw Hawkfrost emerge, an amused look on his face that the normally-placid apprentice wanted to claw off.

"Get off!" she screeched. "Get off of me! You're a murderer!"

"What are you talking about?" murmured Ashfur soothingly. "I haven't murdered any cat, and I don't want to. Are you sure you're okay, Willowpaw?"

Willowpaw knew he was lying - she _knew_ it, but his voice was hypnotic. She relaxed underneath his paws, and he stepped off of her slowly and carefully. Hawkfrost was nodding with approval.

"I think Tigerstar would like you, Willowpaw," he purred.

"Never!" Willowpaw spat, her fur bristling. Ashfur pressed against her comfortingly.

"Stop antagonizing her, Hawkfrost." Ashfur's voice was cool, and his eyes were almost as icy as Tigerstar's son's.

Hawkfrost glared at Ashfur. "Terribly sorry, your _majesty_."

"As you should be," snapped Ashfur, unaffected by Hawkfrost's sarcasm. The pale gray warrior turned to Willowpaw. "You can go, my love. I'll visit you again, soon."

Willowpaw nodded, trembling.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you, too," she murmured, then in the real world, she woke up. It wasn't dawn yet. She felt like she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, and panic from the dream still thudded in her heart.

"Willowpaw, are you awake?" Mothwing lifted her head and blinked sleepily. "I wanted to tell you that tomorrow is the half-moon, and you'll be given your warrior name. Are you ready?"

The apprentice stared at the mentor, suddenly stricken by a hot flash of panic. "I - yes, of course I'm ready," she stammered.

"Good. Go back to sleep."

"Okay."

Willowpaw decided to obey, but even so, she sent a desperate prayer to StarClan that she would dream a normal dream.


	5. Four

**The Piglet: Thanks so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Willowpaw was a random character for me to pick, but I found her to be endearing, and an interesting character to work upon, since she is a medicine cat.**

Willowpaw made many mistakes the next day, but she hid most of them from her mentor. She almost took a mouse from the fresh-kill pile, then she remembered with sharp clarity that she couldn't eat the day of a medicine cat gathering. She sighed and, her belly rumbling, she reentered the medicine cat den and sat staring at the herbs.

She had already resolved to not take any more catmint, whatever the pain she felt in her dreams. She still couldn't remember parts of the last dream clearly, and she felt it was important, and so she mentally berated herself for it. But she could not concentrate on that now. She stared at the herbs and berries and found her knowledge of them there, clear, in her mind...it had always been there, but recently it had been...clouded.

Willowpaw still remembered when those kits had trodden in poisonous Twoleg stuff and gotten most of RiverClan sick. Willowpaw was still a kit, then, but she had been a faithful and loyal helper to Mothwing and Leafpool during that horrible time, and from then on she had been certain that she was medicine cat material. But now Mothwing said she was turning out like Mothflight, that wander-minded, featherbrained she-cat that had become the very first medicine cat. Willowpaw wasn't sure which she should think about - that she was that featherbrained, or that she was like the first medicine cat.

She also remembered the first time she had seen Ashfur. He had been remarkably handsome, and he had spoken to her in a friendly way at the Gathering.

And then he'd died.

And now he haunted her dreams, like he'd decided on her that day at the Gathering.

The day passed quickly, so much that Willowpaw was greatly surprised when Mothwing peeked her head in and said sharply, "Let's go, Willowpaw."

As the dappled silver apprentice followed after her mentor, she could sense the irritation pricking Mothwing's pelt, and knew the golden tabby was still immensely disappointed in her.

They reached the Moonpool in an hour or so's time, and found the other medicine cats already there. To Willowpaw's surprise, Jaypaw bounded forward to greet her.

"Hey, Willowpaw," he said. "I'm so happy for you."

This was not the moody Jaypaw she knew, and it made her heart hurt even worse for him. She touched her nose to his, tenderly, for a very long time, out of the view of their mentors. "Thanks, Jaypaw," she whispered. "How I wish you could see me now."

"I can see you," he told her in a murmur. "Just not in the way you think."

Willowpaw padded to the Moonpool. Before she had even reached it, Mothwing was speaking.

"Willowpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from the rivalry between Clan and Clan, and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?" she meowed evenly.

"I do," murmured Willowpaw.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Willowpaw, from this moment you will be known as Willowheart."

Jaypaw and Kestrelpaw came and touched noses with her excitedly, but all of a sudden she felt dazed and woozy. Their forms grew blurry, and the next thing she knew, she had fallen to her side, striking her head on a rock.

She opened her eyes, and there sat a familiar, beautiful, pale-gray she-cat. But the look in her eyes was not familiar; it was cold, and her face was angry and frosty.

"You have betrayed StarClan, Willowheart," snarled Feathertail.

Willowpaw was stricken. "But, Feathertail -"

"You will bear Ashfur's kits," hissed Feathertail angrily, "and it will be the blessing of a queen, but the curse of a medicine cat, and punishment for being a traitor to your Clan, your position, and StarClan themselves. Two trees will meet by water, and their branches will become forever entwined. The outcome will be your punishment, Willowheart. And so it shall be."


	6. Five

Jaypaw was licking the silver tabby's face furiously. "She's bleeding on the top of her head," he hissed. "Kestrelpaw, get some cobwebs!"

The brown tabby paused, uncertain, and then Barkface cuffed him hard with a paw. "Listen to him, you fool!" yowled the medicine cat. "This isn't about who to obey!"

Kestrelpaw dashed away, and returned limping with cobwebs around his paws. The WindClan apprentice patted them onto Willowheart's wounds himself, then backed away, because, slowly, she was blinking open her eyes. She gazed around at them, fear and horror reflected in her eyes.

"Maybe it's a sign," whispered Kestrelpaw, and it wasn't Barkface who cuffed him this time, but Leafpool, though Barkface didn't object.

Willowheart saw Feathertail reflected in their eyes, and her paws scrabbled on the floor, but she couldn't get away.

"What's wrong with her?" meowed Kestrelpaw in fear.

"There isn't anything wrong!" Mothwing snarled. "How dare you!"

"Calm down, Mothwing. There is something wrong." Jaypaw sniffed at Willowheart, and the silver tabby flinched; in his gray fur she saw Ashfur, and was terrified all over again. Jaypaw gazed at her uncertainly. "She needs thyme," he murmured after a moment.

Willowheart didn't want to take the leafy herb, but Leafpool gently put it in her mouth and stroked her throat until she swallowed it. Slowly, her poor frayed nerves began to calm.

But still, weaving around the medicine cats she could see his shadow, and his blue eyes gleamed. He was proud, she could tell, and he was smug and satisfied.

Willowheart was going to have his kits.


	7. Six

The medicine cats did not leave the Moonpool last night. While Willowheart slept, seemingly peacefully, they conversed in low, hushed tones, obviously worried that she was listening.

"She's been acting like that for at least four moons now, Mothwing," said Littlecloud. "Maybe she isn't cut out to be a medicine cat."

Mothwing's eyes blazed, but the fire died from them just as suddenly. "Maybe you're right," she muttered miserably.

"Or maybe it isn't that at all!" meowed Jaypaw defensively. "Maybe she's had a dream -" He froze, and turned to stare at Leafpool.

"Yes," she murmured, and he heard her get to her paws. "Come with me," she meowed to the others, and she would not answer their questions as she led them from the cave.

Jaypaw waited until he could no longer hear their pawsteps, then he padded over to Willowheart's form and lay next to the small she-cat. She was slightly older than he, but still smaller. He pressed up against her warm, fluffy fur, and closed his eyes.

He wasn't in Willowheart's dream.

"I can't let you do that."

It was Feathertail, the RiverClan she-cat. Jaypaw bristled, seeing her clearly and not liking the cold glint in her eye. "I can do what I want," he snarled. "I know you can't stop me." He bounded past her, and only then did her expression change to panic.

"No, Jaypaw, please -"

"I have to find out what's happening to her!"

"You don't want to know!" Feathertail yowled, but Jaypaw ignored her, brushing past and padding into a place he recognized - the Place of No Stars. He almost wished he was blind; the eerie light of the fungus made him shiver, and not with cold.

It seemed like he had been padding on forever when suddenly a wail rose up from the woods. Jaypaw whirled, recognizing Willowheart's voice, and dashed toward the sound. He skidded to a stop before he could dash out into the open, and he peeked through a blackish-green fern frond.

What he saw horrified him. He couldn't look at Willowheart in such pain, but he knew he couldn't stop it. He averted his gaze, almost retching, until she had stopped her whimpering. Reluctantly he turned back.

"I know you're going to bear my kits, Willowheart."

An icy claw trailed down Jaypaw's spine. He knew that voice, and knew all too clearly the pale gray pelt, flecked with black.

Willowheart let out another chilling wail. "No! StarClan, take the kits away!"

Jaypaw almost gasped. Willowheart was going to have kits?

"But you _want_ to have my kits," meowed Ashfur coaxingly. "You said so yourself..."

Even as he watched, Jaypaw could see the hypnotic effect Ashfur had on Willowheart. She was slowly relaxing, and she nodded, though her eyes were still cold with fear.

"I bet your friend Hollypaw will help you," Ashfur told her. "I bet she'll help you and say they're hers."

Willowheart jerked her chin up. "I won't do that to Hollypaw."

"Whyever not?" murmured Ashfur.

_No!_ Jaypaw thought.

"No, I won't do it!" Willowheart's voice rose to a wail again, and Jaypaw realized that this time, she was trying to drown out Ashfur's hypnotic voice. Jaypaw saw Ashfur raise his paw to deliver a striking blow to the she-cat, and he shifted accidentally, tense and ready to spring.

Ashfur froze.

Too late, Jaypaw knew he'd brushed against the fern and moved it. His brother's old mentor turned piercing eyes on Jaypaw, and the gray medicine cat apprentice knew he'd been seen.


	8. Seven

**Silverpool: Thank you very much! There will probably be more cliffhangers, but if you're a loyal reviewer than you'll see firsthand what happens next. Thanks for your review, and here's your update.**

Willowheart saw Jaypaw at the same time as Ashfur, and her heart stopped. "No!" she screamed, and at that moment Ashfur sprang for the bushes. Willowheart leapt after him and heard him pin Jaypaw to the ground; the younger tom's paws were scrabbling for a hold to fight back against the warrior.

Without hesitation the pregnant she-cat barreled into her nightmare. Ashfur fell off of Jaypaw, and Willowheart screeched, "Run, Jaypaw! _Run_!"

"Not without you!" he panted, bleeding heavily from a wound on his chest. "I'll help you! I promise!"

Ashfur flung Willowheart from him. "He has seen too much! How do you know he won't betray you and tell your secret?" he demanded of her.

_Seen?_ She realized suddenly that Jaypaw was _seeing_...how else could he know what was going on?

"I..." A flicker of doubt passed through Willowheart's mind, but she pushed it away impatiently. "Jaypaw wouldn't do that to me."

"No, I wouldn't," meowed Jaypaw defiantly.

"What kind of word is yours, you sniveling piece of crowfood?" Ashfur spat.

"Or yours, you murderer," Jaypaw hissed.

Willowheart could hardly breathe as the two toms faced off. Ashfur was many seasons older than Jaypaw, and almost twice the apprentice's size. But Jaypaw was almost a warrior; his naming would be next half moon. But still, Willowheart worried that he wouldn't be able to do it - he may be seeing, but...

When the two toms sprang at each other, Willowheart didn't hesitate. She leapt between them. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as both warriors dug their claws into her fur.

o0o0o

"Jaypaw! Jaypaw, wake up!"

He scented Leafpool, but none of the others. He breathed a sigh of relief that they weren't there.

"Great StarClan, Jaypaw, you're _bleeding_," Leafpool hissed.

Jaypaw shook his head sharply. "Enough about me. She's hurt." He turned to Willowheart and buried his nose in her fur, sniffing along her body. He looked up at his mentor. "We have to wake her up."

"She needs the sleep," Leafpool meowed, surprised.

"Not this kind of sleep," Jaypaw argued grimly. He leaned down to whisper in Willowheart's ears. "I want to help you, Willowheart. I promised I'd help you."

The beautiful dappled she-cat began to stir, and then with wide eyes gazed at him. "Jaypaw...you saved me."

"Only until you sleep again," he murmured. "I know what we must do, but I cannot tell you now. Can you meet me at the Gathering island tomorrow night at moonhigh? Can you not sleep until then?"

She nodded. "Yes, Jaypaw. I will."

"What are you two muttering about?" Leafpool asked sharply.

"What I saw in her dream," Jaypaw meowed, but before his mentor could inquire, he said sharply, "Which we have to keep between us for now. I'm sorry, Leafpool."

"It's okay, but I think there's something we need to do before we all go home. Mothwing! Barkface, Kestrelpaw! Come in here!" Leafpool called.

They all entered, and they all seemed to know what was coming. Jaypaw could feel understanding pulsing though them, along with excitement, and a little resentment, or maybe jealousy, on Kestrelpaw's part.

"Jaypaw," said Leafpool, "do you promise to uphold the ways of the medicine cat, to stand apart from the rivalry between Clan and Clan, and to protect all cats even at the cost of your life?"

Stunned beyond words, Jaypaw nodded, slowly but surely.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your true medicine cat name. Jaypaw, from this moment you will be known as..." Her voice cracked. "Jayfeather."

Jayfeather straightened up proudly, and felt Willowheart press her cheek to his flank in congratulations. But he couldn't remain joyous for long. He had to think about what to do next.


	9. Eight

Willowheart waited sleepily on the island, trying to force herself to stay awake. She had been here for an hour, coming earlier than moonhigh in the hopes that Jayfeather would, too. He wasn't there, however; but he did come before moonhigh. He padded out into the moonlight, and Willowheart's heart thumped. He turned his sightless gaze on her and came over to touch his nose to hers.

"Willowheart, please. Trust me. And tell me everything."

She nodded and spilled out everything to him; Feathertail's rejection, her pregnancy, when she had first met Ashfur and onward from there. She told him that she thought Ashfur was planning to kill him, Lionpaw, and Hollypaw.

"You know what we have to do, right?" he murmured when she was finished. He gazed into her eyes, and she could almost swear he could see, for surely that was warmth in his gaze..."We have to leave. There's a prophecy about those kits, I can feel it, Willowheart."

Willowheart shook her head, and her words came out like thorns in her throat. "Then _I _have to leave. You can stay."

"I wouldn't do that to you," he argued, sounding a bit more like the regular Jayfeather.

"I wouldn't take you from your Clan."

"There isn't anything for me there," he said heavily.

"You just got your name!"

"But I'm _blind_. Can't you see, Willowheart? I just want to be with you. But there is something I must show you." He flicked his tail suddenly, and from behind him came a magnificent golden tabby and a sleek black she-cat - his brother and sister, Lionpaw and Hollypaw. "There's something I want you to do for me. Wait until Lionclaw and Hollywisp go to sleep, and wait until I do. Then you can go to sleep. Okay? Do you trust me?"

Willowheart nodded, her throat clogged with fear and tears. "I trust you," she whispered. "They...they are warriors now?"

Lionclaw nodded.

Lionclaw and Hollywisp curled up together, and before long, their breathing was long and even and steadied and slow. Willowheart would have sighed with relief - she finally got to sleep! - but she was too scared to do so.

Jayfeather lay down on the ground, and, after meowing, "Go ahead and go to sleep, Willowheart," he was asleep and breathing regularly as well.

It didn't take Willowheart long to join them; she was absolutely exhausted. She was back in the Place of No Stars, and she could hear pawsteps. Her blood ran to ice. Had Jayfeather abandoned her?

But no, it was Jayfeather himself, and he was leading Lionclaw and Hollywisp into her dream. Then Willowheart understood - reinforcements!

"Call him," Jayfeather whispered.

Willowheart nodded. "Ashfur!" she called, her voice high and thin. "Ashfur, please - I have to tell you something!"

The pale gray tom materialized from the dark forest. "Willowheart? You call me willingly?" His eyes sparkled like he was happy to see her.

"I..."

"What? What is this?" Ashfur looked past her at the two strong warriors. "Willowheart - have you betrayed me? How does this happen?"

"You aren't alone, Ashfur." Hawkfrost came out of nowhere. "I am here."

Ashfur nodded.

"Let's go," whispered Lionclaw.

Hollywisp nodded, her pretty green eyes glittering, then she and Lionclaw sprang. They clashed with a thunderous noise with Ashfur and Hawkfrost. Willowheart watched in horror as Hawkfrost pinned Lionclaw and Hollywisp sliced open Ashfur's nose.

With a battle yowl Jayfeather joined the battle, leaping on Hawkfrost's back and bowling him off his brother. Willowheart joined them fiercely, but she avoided Ashfur. Jayfeather seemed to understand; he switched his assault from Tigerstar's son to the pale gray tomcat, and Willowheart dug her claws into Hawkfrost's shoulders.

But the four were not to beat the two.

The tide of battle turned, for suddenly, a dark figure loomed on the horizon. He was huge, a broad-shouldered dark tabby with horrible, glittering amber eyes and long, curved claws that would be more appropriately called "talons".

Lionclaw stood up, panting, and blood dripped from a wound on his side. "Go," he told Jayfeather and Willowheart.

"What? No!" Willowheart cried.

"Go now," Hollywisp told her. "We can do this. You have to trust us."

Jayfeather touched noses with his siblings. "I'll see you again," he whispered.

"If not in your dreams, then in StarClan," murmured Hollywisp.

"Farewell," Lionclaw said, and his eyes saddened; he was remembering another cat leaving him. "Go now, before they stop you."

Jayfeather and Willowheart turned to run. She heard Ashfur wail, "No! Willowheart, I _love_ you!"

_Maybe on some level_, Willowheart thought as the sounds of battle came up again, _but if you really loved me, you would leave me alone_.


	10. Nine

She should have known she was not safe. As she crouched again in the roots of the great black tree, again she could hear his pawsteps, and again they were coming towards her.

"Willowheart, my love," he called before he reached her, "you don't understand. You never understood."

"Step away from her."

This voice was powerful and rippling and _sudden_, like a powerful crack of thunder. Willowheart looked up and, standing on the root under which she hid, was Lionclaw. The golden tabby bared his teeth at Ashfur.

Willowheart saw behind Ashfur, and there was Hollywisp, her black fur gleaming in the half-light. Her tail lashed back and forth.

"No...you can't be dead..." Willowheart looked up pleadingly at Lionclaw.

"No, we are not," he assured her. "But we hang in the balance, and StarClan allows us here until Leafpool can help us return to safety, and return to the light. And we will not let him hurt you while we can help it."

"But..."

Hollywisp padded forward and stood squarely in front of Ashfur. "We may be unable to kill you, but we can keep you away from Willowheart," she meowed.

"And so can I." Jayfeather materalized alongside Willowheart. "Don't come any closer, foxdung."

Ashfur looked truly agonized. "She's my _mate_," he wailed.

"By force," snapped Hollywisp.

"I love her! It was the only way I could be with her! Please, let me see her!" His voice was high-pitched. "Please!"

"Begone from here," Lionclaw roared, truly like the lions of yore.

Ashfur cried out with pure pain before he turned and ran off into the night. Jayfeather turned to Willowheart and licked her cheek.

"Go on, Willowheart. Sleep peacefully."

o0o0o

Jayfeather turned to his sister and brother. They were in StarClan's hunting grounds now, instead of the Place of No Stars.

"Leafpool won't let you die..." he began.

"We know you left for a reason," Lionclaw interrupted him.

"We don't blame you for not being here," Hollywisp added.

Jayfeather nodded silently.

"So do you remember those tunnels that those kits ventured in?" Lionclaw meowed casually. Jayfeather nodded his head again. "They go further than just ThunderClan and WindClan, and where they go, you will be safe, even from the floods. StarClan will guide you where you need to go, but you can't stay gone forever. You know that, right, Jayfeather?"

The gray warrior wasn't at all sure he knew, but he nodded again anyway.

"You'll come back when the time is right," Hollywisp agreed, "and we'll be here waiting. I promise."

They touched noses with him, then padded away. Sometimes Jayfeather had wondered what it would be like if he didn't have a brother and sister, but he knew now that he didn't want to find out.


	11. Ten

**Teh Pwnzor: No, they didn't. They are hovering on the edge, able to hunt with StarClan, but in reality they are still living and breathing. I suppose one term for it could be "comatose". They are badly injured, but Leafpool is taking care of them.**

Three moons had passed. Jayfeather and Willowheart lived in tunnels just outside ThunderClan territory. Jayfeather knew the she-cat was about to give birth, but he had no idea how to find borage and cobweb and such without venturing into ThunderClan territory; if he did that, some cat would follow his scent and trace him here, and who knew what would happen then?

So when Jayfeather was woken by Willowheart's cry of surprise, he knew exactly what was happening, without being able to see or venturing into her mind.

"Hang in there, Willowheart!" he cried.

_How can a blind cat help a pregnant queen?_

The answer came in the form of a gentle voice. "I will help you."

It was Fallen Leaves, the tom that had once drowned in the tunnels underneath ThunderClan territory, and that had wandered them ever since. He had helped Jayfeather to guide his friends from the tunnels lower down when they flooded. Now Jayfeather felt Fallen Leaves' soft pelt brush his.

"Follow me. I will lead you to the right herbs, before she starts giving birth."

Jayfeather nodded. "Take me there."

With his tail draped across the young medicine cat's shoulders, Fallen Leaves quickly steered him down another tunnel, and almost immediately Jayfeather smelled borage.

"There." Fallen Leaves directed him to it, and he picked it up in his mouth. "And over here, I gathered you some honey, so she will take it."

Jayfeather picked up the leaf, filled with thick, syrupy liquid, and felt it mix with the borage leaves.

"Reach out your paw," Fallen Leaves instructed, "there it is, the cobwebs. Don't worry about limping; I'll lead you back safely."

Jayfeather did as he was directed, and then he limped on three paws back toward Willowheart, who was beginning to whimper. He shook the cobwebs off impatiently and set down the borage by her head. "Thyme, Fallen Leaves?" he asked.

"There is none."

"What should I do?"

"It's in your mind, Jayfeather. I am no healer. You must _think_..."

Jayfeather had absolutely no idea what to do next, so he just began to stroke Willowheart's belly with one paw. "It'll all be okay," he told her soothingly. "It'll all be okay."

Her wails escalated and Jayfeather began to grow woozy. He could smell so much _blood_...Something was going wrong, he could tell...

o0o0o

By the time it was over, nine kits had been born.

Four had survived.

One was a beautiful she-kit, perfectly dappled and silver like Willowheart. The other she-kit was tortoiseshell; either Willowheart or Ashfur must have been descended from a tortoiseshell. The two toms were pale gray and black. Jayfeather could not see them, but he knew they were beautiful.

Willowheart was unconscious, but despite the fact, her milk was flowing. Jayfeather made her swallow more borage by stroking her throat, then he guided her four surviving kits to her belly. After feeling one last time for the pulse of the other five, he allowed Fallen Leaves to lead him to a place where he could bury the tiny kits, who never got even a glimpse of the world.

o0o0o

Willowheart woke to her first glimpse of her beautiful kits. She had no idea that nine had been born, and Jayfeather did not intend to tell her. When she joined StarClan, she would find them again. He had no intention of telling her, either, how close she had come to doing just that.

"The tortoiseshell will be Spottedkit," she purred, stroking the sleeping tortoiseshell with her tail. Spottedkit was the smallest of the litter. "This one, a pale gray tom, he'll be..."

Jayfeather knew she was thinking of Ashfur, and he knew also the warrior that Ashfur could have been.

"Noblekit," he suggested quietly.

He felt her nod against his pelt. "Then the black tom will be Fallenkit."

He didn't question her; he knew that she was thinking of both Lionclaw, a tom, and Hollywisp, who was black, who had almost died for Willowheart.

"And this one...she looks like me..."

"Shiningkit," whispered Jayfeather.

"Yes. Shiningkit."

As Jayfeather pressed against her and heard the relaxed breathing of the sleeping kits, he felt deep inside him like _he_ was their father. Jayfeather, father of Spottedkit, Noblekit, Fallenkit, and Shiningkit...

He shook his head. All good things must come to an end.

As soon as the kits were big enough, Jayfeather and Willowheart had to part.


	12. Eleven

**Teh Pwnzor: You're quite welcome, I didn't want them to die either. XD Here's your update.**

The night was dark. It was a black moon, and the stars that did hang in the sky glittered rather coldly down on six cats, one large, one small, four tiny. The two larger cats, one a black tom and the other a dappled silvery she-cat, touched noses briefly before parting. Mewling unhappily, the black tom-kit and the dappled silver she-kit followed after the gray warrior, and the other two followed after their mother.

The gray warrior padded into camp, carrying the she-kit, ushering the other along with his tail. Immediately a light tabby dashed out and touched her nose to his. She questioned him about the kits; he answered in a monotone voice, obviously unhappy. The tabby she-cat tilted her head at him inquiringly, but didn't say anything more; she reached past him and picked up the tom-kit in her jaws. The two carried them to a largely hidden den, where a silver tabby looked up at them sharply.

She had newly kitted, and her mate, a large gray tom, bristled at the two new kits, but the other gray warrior paid no attention; he dropped the she-kit at the silver tabby's paws, and the light tabby followed his example.

He pleaded with the queen to please take the kits, and she softened, before herding the two kits to her belly. A look of immense relief came over the warrior's face - but he was no warrior. He was a medicine cat. His tail drooped and he followed the light tabby back to the medicine den. Those weren't his kits, and he would never have any.

On the other side of the lake, the dappled silver queen crossed a stream at the stepping-stones. She held a pale gray kit tenderly in her mouth, and a tortoiseshell she-kit rode on her back.

A beautiful golden tabby met her at the edge of the stepping-stones. The queen fed her a lie; the golden tabby accepted it without question and took the tortoiseshell from the silver she-cat's back, and together they headed for the camp.

It was a new beginning for four new kits, but a sad ending for a relationship that could never have been.

**Sorry about the shortness! I envision this as a movie scene with a sad song playing.**

**I'm thinking about doing the rest of the story in first person from each kit's point of view. Could I have your thoughts on this? If you think I should do it in third person then I will.**


	13. Twelve

**Hey everyone! I deleted the last three chapters and replaced them because I didn't like the first-person thingy. Sorry if that's not cool with you!**

Willowheart watched lovingly as her kits - the two, Noblekit and Spottedkit, that she had taken to RiverClan - romped with Icewing's Chervilkit and Sagekit. The white she-cat had nursed Noblekit and Spottedkit faithfully once her medicine cat had asked her to. Thankfully, she and the others had asked no questions; the two kits looked nothing like their swirl-pelted, dappled mother. Noblekit was a lighter gray, Spottedkit was tortoiseshell, and they weren't going to be tiny like Willowheart. They had a powerful, lean build.

Now their mother couldn't wait to see who their mentors would be. But unfortunately, Leopardstar had delayed their apprenticeship until the day after the Gathering, which was that night, because the two kits had strayed out of camp purposefully and almost drowned themselves by accident. It was their punishment.

Her ear flicked as another cat came close to her. "Are you hoping to mentor one of them?" It was Rippletail, a dark tom that had taken a fancy to Willowheart - or at least to talking with her.

Willowheart shook her head. "This isn't the right path for them," she meowed sadly. _They could have so much more_.

"Hey, Willowheart!" called a voice. Willowheart's ears pricked as Spottedkit came closer, having abandoned her play with Noblekit and the two kits that she imagined were her brother and sister. "I wanted to talk to you. You're a medicine cat, so..."

Willowheart's eyes narrowed. "Rippletail, if you would excuse me..."

The dark gray warrior looked disappointed. "Sure, but we're leaving for the Gathering in a few moments."

Willowheart nodded. "Come. Maybe Mothwing should hear this too," Willowheart meowed at her daughter. With her tail she guided the tortoiseshell to the medicine cat's den, where Mothwing was separating two piles of similar-looking berries.

"Mothwing," meowed Willowheart.

With a swish of her tail Mothwing had swept the berries out of view. "Is something wrong?" asked the golden tabby, looking at Spottedkit.

"Not so much _wrong_, but I had this dream last night..."

"All cats that are going to attend the Gathering come to me!" Leopardstar's voice yowled. Willowheart winced and stroked Spottedkit's back with her tail.

"Bad luck," she purred as Spottedkit scowled. "Keep it in your thoughts, and don't forget to ask me when I come back, okay?"

The slim tortoiseshell nodded. "'Kay," she meowed unhappily.

Willowheart followed Mothwing from the medicine den to join the others around Leopardstar. They left, with Willowheart glancing back once more at her daughter, whose face was unhappy and frustrated as she watched the medicine cats leave.


	14. Thirteen

RiverClan were the first to arrive at the Gathering, which was not unusual. After all, they were the closest to the Island, just before WindClan. Willowheart sat and curled her tail around her paws, watching as WindClan entered, then ShadowClan, and then finally - ThunderClan.

Jayfeather was among them. Willowheart was jubilant when she saw Lionclaw and Hollywisp helping him along. _They're alive!_ she thought with a small sigh of relief. But she could plainly see the scars that Leafpool had been unable to heal; the scars that Tigerstar had left on his grandkits forever.

But there were two cats that the medicine cat was really searching for.

And there they were, trailing along, the she-cat padding after a tortoiseshell, and the tomcat following a dark gray tom that Willowheart recognized - Stormfur. Her two beautiful kits, who were now apprentices. They would be Shiningpaw and Fallenpaw now.

But her heart fell with a thud when she saw Fallenpaw.

His eyes were misted over, and Stormfur was supporting him as they crossed the felled tree that connected the island with the shore. How could she not have noticed? How could she not have known that her Fallenkit, her beautiful black kit, was blind?

They were beautiful, anyway. Her kits.

Ashfur's kits.

_That's right, my love_, whispered a voice seductively in her ear, and she flinched. She had not heard that voice for six moons, and she knew why it was here now. He would have seen Fallenpaw and Shiningpaw's apprentice ceremonies, and he would be there, watching, when the other two experienced the same thing.

_They're all mine. Just like you. You thought you'd escaped, didn't you? When that blind fool brought his littermates with him, and they attacked me and Hawkfrost? But Tigerstar tore them apart. They were almost dead, but Jayfeather came back and led them out of our forest, and into StarClan. I watched from the trees as that foxhearted Bluestar told them it wasn't their time..._

Go away...

"I'd like you to meet someone," Jayfeather was meowing. He was leading Fallenpaw and Shiningpaw closer to Willowheart, closer to Ashfur.

"Hey! She looks familiar!" Shiningpaw exclaimed.

Fallenpaw took a deep breath. "Smells familiar too," he murmured, very softly and shyly.

"Hello, young ones," meowed Willowheart. But she was young too; too young to have been a mother, too young to have been forced to this.

"This is the medicine cat that helped your mother to give birth to you," Jayfeather meowed carefully.

"Ohh," said Shiningpaw knowingly, nodding.

Fallenpaw came a little closer. "Jayfeather's blind like me," he meowed, tilting his head, "but he says you're beautiful. How does he know that?"

Jayfeather's fur stood on end. "I never said that, Fallenpaw."

"You shouldn't lie," murmured Fallenpaw solemnly.

Willowheart smiled and purred very softly, brushing her tail along Fallenpaw's spine and touching her nose to Jayfeather's. "I appreciate the compliment," she purred. "And Fallenpaw, he has seen me. Just like you're seeing me now. He's seen me with hise senses, with touch and scent and hearing. He knows my voice like you do now, and my scent."

Fallenpaw nodded. "I understand."

_A blind kit. Just like that fool_, came Ashfur's voice.

There's nothing wrong with him.

"Well, she is pretty," meowed Shiningkit loudly. "I like her."

"You shouldn't be so quick to trust," murmured Willowheart.

"Why are you feeling guilty?" asked Fallenpaw quietly.

"What?" Willowheart looked sharply at him, and by her side she felt Ashfur stiffen.

"I can feel it, coming off of you."

Jayfeather stiffened as well, and his ears pricked. Fallenpaw tilted his head, oblivious.

"I'm not feeling guilty, sweetheart," meowed Willowheart, but she was shaken. How had Fallenpaw known what she was feeling? And why had Jayfeather stiffened? Did he think she was talking about him?

To belay those thoughts, she touched Jayfeather gently with her tail.

_Don't touch him._

Don't tell me what to do.

_Defiant, are we?_ purred Ashfur. _That won't last. I won't let you tell him I'm here._

She saw him out of the corner of her vision, and wherever she turned her head, he was still just there, at the periphery. He wound around Shiningpaw, then rasped his tongue slowly and tantalizingly over Fallenpaw's head.

Get. Away. From. Him.

_That's not going to happen_.

"Why are you angry?" Fallenpaw inquired, exactly as he had asked why she was feeling guilty. Willowheart absentmindedly ran her tail over his back again.

"I'm not angry, my love," she said. They didn't question why she spoke to them so familiarly, and she was grateful for it.

Jayfeather came closer. "Where are Spottedpaw and Noblepaw?"

"Their apprenticeships were delayed until after the Gathering because they strayed willfully out of camp," Willowheart told him in an undertone.

_Only a sign of what strong warriors they will be._

Get out of my head!

_And that Fallenpaw...those skills of his may be useful..._ Ashfur trailed off. _Listen, Willowheart_, he meowed suddenly, unhappily, desperately, _I don't want you to hate me. I want you to love me. What else do you think this is? I thought these kits would tie you to me. I thought you would _love _me._

Willowheart felt his hypnotic effect, and with effort, she pushed it away. There was a future for her kits, even if they were completely illicit, and that future had nothing to do with their father.


	15. Fourteen

Firestar spoke first. The handsome flame-colored tom sprang to the top branch of the tree. Normally, Leopardstar got there first, but obviously the ThunderClan leader did not intend to be outdone. He was sparkling with pride, and Willowheart knew he was about to announce the two new apprentices; and Willowheart couldn't help but straighten with pride herself.

"ThunderClan has much news to report," he declared. "There are four new apprentices in ThunderClan since the last Gathering."

_Four?_ Willowheart looked around curiously, and caught sight of a pure white she-cat sitting closely to a reddish tom. They looked to be the same age, and they looked proud but nervous - _definitely_ new apprentices.

"Icepaw, Foxpaw, Fallenpaw, and Shiningpaw are all here at -"

"Fallenpaw and Shiningpaw?" yowled a voice loudly. "Who are they?"

Willowheart saw Jayfeather bristling. Apparently he had seen this coming.

"They are two new apprentices of ThunderClan," meowed Firestar calmly, and without waiting for a response he plowed on, "There are also new kits in the nursery..."

"What if that's not good enough?" Willowheart rolled her eyes when she realized it was Blackclaw, one of the most aggressive warriors she had ever met, and in her own Clan. "What if we want to know where they came from?"

"If I were to answer that question," purred Firestar, "then you would have to tell me where young Noblekit and Spottedkit came from."

_How does he-_

Blackclaw voiced her thoughts. "How do _you_ know about them?"

Firestar's tail twitched. "They have been seen near the border."

"And that's how you knew their names?"

_They are in trouble, my love,_ Ashfur whispered. _Aren't you going to help them? Say that you told ThunderClan about them...not that they were seen...or their apprenticeships may be delayed even longer! Don't you want to see them being mentored?_

"It's true." A cream-colored tom stood up. "I was on dawn patrol, and that's where they were. A tortoiseshell and a pale gray tom."

"Thank you, Berrynose," meowed Firestar dryly.

_Hurry now, my heart, my darling!_ cried Ashfur. _Look at Leopardstar's face!_

Look Willowheart did, and there she saw anger and frustration. She obviously didn't _want_ to delay the apprenticeships, but she would have no choice but to punish them.

She stood up, with another urging by Ashfur: _Now, my love! Willowheart!_

Jayfeather, hearing the movement, glanced at her sharply, and felt horror as she began, "It was me, Leopardstar. I was hoping that one of them would be tempted to be my apprentice, and I wanted to show them some of the herbs near the border." Before Berrynose could say that he had not seen her there, she continued, "I saw a mouse, and being a medicine cat with little chance to hunt, I wanted to hone my skills. I went away to catch it, and I thought the kits were following me. They must have seen Berrynose then. I apologize for the misunderstanding."

The lie came out so smoothly, Jayfeather was shocked. What was Willowheart thinking?

Leopardstar stood, enraged, her claws sinking into her branch with fury. "You took kits out of the camp? Without my permission?" She was clearly embarrassed, and angry that she was being embarrassed.

"Can't watch your own Clan, can you, Leopardstar?" mewed Blackstar evilly.

Very suddenly, the golden tabby looked very old. Willowheart was reminded that she was on her next-to-last life, and had been a leader for many, many seasons. She had lived through Crookedstar's reign, through Mudfur being medicine cat and Hawkfrost's betrayal, through Mothwing's getting Willowpaw as an apprentice, through...everything Willowheart had heard tell of. She would be sorrowed to see Leopardstar go.

"Perhaps you're right, Blackstar."

"_What?"_

"Willowheart, you will be confined to the camp for the next three moons," meowed Leopardstar wearily. "You may not leave to collect herbs, or if I allow you to, you will take a warrior with you."

_What does she think I'm going to do?_ Willowheart thought angrily. _Go run away?_

Jayfeather could feel the confused feelings coming off of her in waves, and when he felt Fallenpaw's understanding, he knew Fallenpaw was feeling it too - her anger, her confusion, her uncertainty, her grief.

Onestar stepped forward suddenly. "WindClan has _three_ new apprentices." He shot a glance at Firestar triumphantly. "Thistlepaw, Sedgepaw, and Swallowpaw are all with us today."

The named apprentices straightened, but most cats' minds were elsewhere, or at least a few were. The Gathering ended uneventfully; Tawnypelt's kits were not yet old enough to be named apprentices, and RiverClan's apprentices would be made the next day. As the Gathering came to a close, Jayfeather blocked Willowheart's way.

"What was that?" he demanded.

"What was what?"

"That lie," he hissed at her. "Why did you do that?"

"It was just something I had to do," she replied resignedly. "I'm sorry I can't answer you better, Jayfeather." She turned to Fallenpaw and Shiningpaw. "It was a pleasure to meet the two of you," she purred softly. She reached out a paw to touch Fallenpaw's face while stroking Shiningpaw with her tail. "I wish I could see you at the next Gathering."

While they left with their respective mentors, Willowheart heard Shiningpaw say, "She's real nice, Sorreltail, have you met her?"

Fallenpaw's mentor, Stormfur, inclined his head to Willowheart, who he'd known in RiverClan, but his eyes were guarded as he stared at her briefly before leading his blind apprentice away.


	16. Fifteen

Jayfeather padded home alone, avoiding the company of his brother and sister and trying to work out what Willowheart had done, exactly, and why she had done it. The obvious reason was that she didn't want her kits' apprenticeships to be delayed any longer, but it had seemed to him like there was an undercurrent of _something_, though for the life of him he couldn't tell what.

So he knew what he intended to do.

"Leafpool," he called quietly, speeding up to keep pace alongside the light tabby. Her amber eyes gazed at him questioningly. "I need to stop by the Moonpool."

She narrowed her eyes. "What for?"

Jayfeather twitched an ear. "Medicine cat business."

"Is that so?"

Leafpool had been suspicious of him ever since his absence, especially because he had returned with kits in tow. He could honestly say they were not his, but the medicine cat had never once let down her guard around him since. Before he had come to expect it, he had flinched at the heavy currents of suspicion rolling from her pelt whenever he came near. Right now he could feel her eyes burning into his pelt. If she guessed that it was about Willowheart, Jayfeather couldn't deny it; but he had not lied about the kits not being his, so Leafpool had no reason to suspect him of betrayal.

"Well, I'm a medicine cat, too. It can't hurt for me to come."

Jayfeather shrugged. "I suppose not, no."

He felt her surprise twinge off her fur. Yes, well, she couldn't enter into his dreams like he could enter into hers; he had nothing to worry about if she tagged along.

"Fine, then." He heard her pad away, probably to tell Firestar where they were going.

Jayfeather ignored her the whole way up the path to the Moonpool, very efficiently remaining silent whenever she spoke. He could feel her frustration, and didn't much care. He had stopped caring when she had started to get so suspicious of him.

He felt his way up to the pool and then carefully leaned down and licked up a few of the precious, starlit drops. They tasted cold, like a breeze on wet fur, and almost immediately he was asleep by the edge of the pool. He saw himself like he was detached from his body; his gray-black form lay, its only motion its slow, relaxed breathing. A few tail-lengths away he saw Leafpool. The light tabby hadn't taken a drink from the pool yet. She was watching Jayfeather's body with an expression of something akin to fear.

But Jayfeather didn't have time to keep a close eye on her, because suddenly a familiar scent seeped around him. He turned and saw Spottedleaf, her dark mottled fur gleaming, tipped with silver.

"I know why you have come," she meowed, "but I cannot give you the answer to your question. I can only give you a new prophecy, one that has been seen among the stars."

Jayfeather suppressed a sigh. It was always prophecies with these cats! Why couldn't they ever just give him a straight answer if they knew it?

"Follow me. I will show this to you in a vision."

The pretty tortoiseshell padded off down a long tunnel that Jayfeather hadn't seen before; when they emerged, they were in the Place of No Stars, a forest he recognized when once Tigerstar and Hawkfrost had tried to speak with him, and when he, Lionclaw, and Hollywisp had fought off Ashfur and the others.

"Why have you brought me here?" he demanded, his voice shaking with anger.

"This is but a vision," she reminded him, "there is nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm not afraid!" he protested.

"Look there," Spottedleaf interrupted before he could go on, and she angled her ears upward. Jayfeather followed her gaze and saw a single star, shining brightly in the night sky.

"But cats that walk here can't see the stars," meowed Jayfeather confusedly.

"Only a cat that walks in two places can get a star such as that," meowed Spottedleaf. "Do you remember Feathertail? She has a star in both StarClan's hunting grounds and those of the Tribe's ancestors."

"But who in the forest is evil enough to walk here? We can kill them before they cause any harm," hissed Jayfeather urgently.

"No, Jayfeather. There is something else in the future for you. You cannot have a paw in two destinies."

Spottedleaf began to fade. Jayfeather hissed with fury and his fur stood on end, but the tortoiseshell was already gone, and he was waking again, and again he could not see.

Leafpool's voice was wary. "What did you see?"

"Nothing," he spat angrily. "They showed me nothing."


	17. Sixteen

**The Piglet: Yep, it's always either a prophecy or a sign!**

Willowheart was so exhausted and upset when she came home that she hardly even listened to Mothwing's enraged rant, except for when the aging golden tabby said furiously, "You are coming close to exile!"

The pretty silver she-cat looked up sharply. "Exile?"

"If you continue on with this, then yes," meowed Mothwing grimly. She turned and stormed from the den, probably to sleep on the mossy nest on the roots of the tree outside. As she went, a slim tortoiseshell came through, looking at Mothwing questioningly. Spottedkit then turned to gaze piercingly at Willowheart.

"Are you too tired?" she demanded, "because I need to talk to you about my dream. And so does Noblekit."

Willowheart straightened. "Both of you have had the same dream?"

"Yeah, we were in it together." Noblekit entered the den, looking strikingly like his father with piercing blue eyes.

"Well, before we get into that, I have to speak with you." Willowheart motioned for the kits to come deeper into the den, and then she began. "I covered for you greatly today. You have strayed out of camp more often than Leopardstar knows, and it was revealed tonight at the Gathering. I told them that I was hoping one of you would be made my apprentice, and in those hopes I took you out near the border to show you some herbs."

"You lied for us?" Spottedkit's voice was awed.

Willowheart hardened. "I did, and I won't do it again."

Noblekit nodded. "We understand, but aren't you going to question us about what we were doing?"

"Well then. What were you doing?"

"It had to do with the dream!" Spottedkit cried excitedly. "You see, we were both there, right, in this creepy and starless forest. Then this cat came up to us. He was gorgeous, Willowheart, I mean, I know you're a medicine cat, but you gotta know, this tom was broad-shouldered, a dark tabby with the most dreamy blue eyes..." Spottedkit pretended to swoon, while Noblekit rolled his eyes.

"And anyway, he brushed Spottedkit's back then he took us both to this other cat who said he was our father," continued Noblekit. "He looked just like me, or I guess I look just like him. Name's Ashfur."

Willowheart's blood ran to ice. "Is that so?" she meowed coldly.

"Yeah," said Spottedkit, nodding. "He said that Icewing wasn't really our mother, that she left when we were born and he died not long after. So we asked him who our mother was and why she wasn't there and he said again, she wasn't dead, she just left, and if we looked hard enough we'd find her-"

"So we went looking," added Noblekit simply. "But we couldn't find her anywhere, and we've been looking every morning before the warriors get up and Chervilkit and Sagekit, and Icewing and all them. But then we met Berrynose, and we had to stop looking. That was like, a quarter moon ago."

"So what can you tell us? Can you ask StarClan about the dreams? Or were they sent from StarClan?"

"I cannot ask StarClan," Willowheart growled frostily, "nor were they sent from your warrior ancestors. Do not visit those cats anymore, and do not leave the camp unless you are sent."

"But Willowheart -"

"Do as I told you!" Willowheart snapped. Flinching, Spottedkit and Noblekit fled from the den, and Willowheart slumped down to the floor. She had never known that Ashfur would go as far as to visit his kits in their dreams, and torment their lives. So she curled up in the back of the den, among the soothing scents of the familiar herbs, and fell asleep. There she padded along twisted paths until she reached the edge of the fungus-lit forest that she had not visited for moons on end. She had many questions to ask of her nightmare.


	18. Seventeen

Willowheart padded confidently into the forest, and soon she heard Ashfur's painfully familiar mew. But this time, answering him were two smaller voices, voices she recognized from the Gathering.

"Ashfur!" she yowled angrily, dashing forward into the clearing. She immediately saw the pale gray tom, and before him was a young black apprentice and a dappled silver one. "Let them go from here. Now," she hissed, her fur fluffing out to make the small she-cat look twice her size.

"But I don't keep them here," meowed Ashfur, looking puzzled. "They come of their own will."

Willowheart spat at his paws and turned to face Fallenpaw and Shiningpaw. "Leave here," she ordered. "Now. And don't ever come back."

"But why?" Shiningpaw complained loudly. "We have fun here. Ashfur and Hawkfrost teach us how to fight."

"You don't need them to," Willowheart snapped. "Sorreltail and Stormfur know how to fight just fine. Now do as I told you and go back to sleep. And for StarClan's sake, don't tell a soul about this."

Fallenpaw gazed at her - really gazed at her, and she realized he was seeing her in this dream, just like Jayfeather could see in his dreams. With a suppressed and wistful sigh she thought that Fallenpaw could have _been_ Jayfeather's son for all that they were alike.

"Why do you need us to leave?" he asked her steadily.

"Please, Fallenpaw," she begged him. "Do you trust me, or do you trust this cat?"

"Well, I trust you," meowed Fallenpaw, but he glanced sidelong at his sister, who he must be seeing for the first time. He looked back at Willowheart. "You really are beautiful, just like Jayfeather said."

"Yes, she is." Ashfur entwined his tail with Willowheart's, but she shoved him hard with her hindquarters and pushed him away.

"Thank you, Fallenpaw," she meowed urgently, "but you have to go. Now. And please, if you really do trust me, do not come back."

"But Willowheart -" Shiningpaw began, but Fallenpaw draped his tail across his sister's shoulders.

"Come on, Shiningpaw. Maybe Stormfur and Sorreltail will take us hunting in the morning, huh?" he purred encouragingly, leading her away toward the border of the Place of No Stars. After they had been gone for many moments, Ashfur hissed.

"How dare you?" he demanded. "They are my kits as well, and I love them! Almost as much as I love you!"

"Those words mean nothing to me anymore."

Ashfur sprang, pinning her down to the ground as he used to do. "How else can I prove it to you then doing this to you?" he asked her. "If I could do it any other way..."

"If you really loved me, you would leave me alone."

"That's not true. You don't want that."

"Of course I do! And if not me, then my kits," she pleaded. "If you still have to torture me like this, then leave the kits out of it."

"I can't just abandon my kits." And with that came the pain again, pain she had not known for many moons, and when it was over, he let her go willingly, almost regretfully; she ran with all her might, pleading to StarClan that she wouldn't get pregnant again, and burst back out in wakefulness.


	19. Eighteen

It was like the incident had been merely to prove that Ashfur still had power over Willowheart.

Three moons had passed, and she had not seen him again. After questioning Spottedpaw and Noblepaw, who were being mentored by Rippletail and Mistyfoot, she found that they hadn't spoken with him either.

She had new problems now.

Tensions between WindClan and RiverClan had grown in the past moons. It seemed like each Clan was trying to irritate the other. RiverClan would find WindClan scent over the border and take a few steps over themselves. With every passing day the tensions rose, and Leopardstar seemed to be deliberating, and her mind was tilting towards the attack.

With a fight so close on the horizon, Blackclaw and Mosspelt were making trouble. The two warriors had both joined the elders' den recently, and were causing the angry blood already in the Clan to boil and escalate, saying things like, "I wish I could join you!" and "Kill a couple WindClanners for us!"

The apprentices - Spottedpaw, Noblepaw, Sneezepaw, Mallowpaw, Chervilpaw, and Sagepaw - were training a lot more. More often than not, Rippletail, Mistyfoot, Voletooth, Pouncepad, Reedwhisker, and Dapplefur took all six of them out together to practice fighting more than one cat. Willowheart watched these with dismay, and Mothwing as she busily gathered herbs that she'd need for injuries.

"You should be helping," Mothwing said once, but she never bothered Willowheart again about her unwillingness to participate in the preparations.

Then, one night when the sun was just setting, it all climaxed.

"Leopardstar! _Leopardstar!_" yowled a voice angrily. It was Reedwhisker and Beechfur, followed by Reedwhisker's apprentice Chervilpaw. Beechfur padded up to wait beneath Leopardstar's den until the leader emerged, looking worn and weary.

"What is it, Beechfur?"

"It's WindClan!" the light brown warrior declared. "We saw them stealing fish from the river! That Crowfeather probably taught them how! All because Feathertail taught him!"

_Don't blame Feathertail!_ thought Willowheart, striding out with fury in her step.

Her worry stemmed from ThunderClan's long friendship with WindClan, and their closeness in proximity. The first Clan WindClan would run to for help would be ThunderClan, and if her kits, or Jayfeather, were sent into the battle, Willowheart wouldn't be able to help them.

"They strayed that far over the border?" demanded Leopardstar.

"That far," confirmed Reedwhisker.

"Are we going to attack?" demanded Chervilpaw, her fur bristling with excitement.

Leopardstar deliberated for a moment, then she nodded decisively. "Yes. We're going to attack them. Mistyfoot! Gather battle-able warriors, and any apprentices that are ready! It's time for a raid on WindClan." Leopardstar caught Willowheart's eye. "You come, too, Willowheart. Bring any herbs you need and stay on the outskirts of the battle. Reedwhisker will stay with you and protect you."

Willowheart's fur fluffed out. "Leopardstar, we don't have to do this!"

"It's time, Willowheart. Now do as I have ordered."

Willowheart sighed explosively and looked up at the sky, and her blood ran chill at the sight. The clouds were red, and there was nothing else it could signify but bloodshed.

**Does anyone need an Allegiances list? I didn't want to post it smack dab in the middle, but if you guys want it, I'll post it for you.**


	20. Nineteen

Willowheart raced through the marsh just behind the other RiverClanners. Leopardstar and Mistyfoot had gathered Dapplefur, Pouncepad, Pebblestep, Rippletail, Spottedpaw, Sagepaw, and Mallowpaw for the attack. Pelting alongside Willowheart was Reedwhisker, who Mistyfoot had assigned to protect the medicine cat during the battle.

It was unfortunate for WindClan that their camp was right out in the open, but they seemed to be expecting an attack. Eight warriors and three apprentices were lined up alongside the camp, and they sprang at RiverClan with quick, powerful bodies.

Too late, Willowheart realized they were outnumbered.

Rippletail, the eldest warrior besides Mistyfoot and Leopardstar, was fending off two younger warriors, Harebreeze and Heatherwind. He batted at their faces with claws unsheathed, but they ducked and wove, spitting at him. The apprentices were locked in battle with the apprentices. Spottedpaw was sleek and swift as she rolled beneath Sedgepaw's stomach and kicked upward, sending the WindClan tom flying. Sagepaw had leapt on Thistlepaw's back and the two of them were rolling and wrestling. Swallowpaw had pinned Mallowpaw.

"Reedwhisker, you have to help them!"

"Then who will help you?" He looked at her with deep concern in his eyes.

"No one!" she spat. "Look! We're outnumbered, even with Leopardstar and - no!" she cried. She could already see ThunderClan coming over the horizon, led by Crowfeather.

And Jayfeather was with them, along with Shiningpaw.

Firestar had brought Brambleclaw, Berrynose, Cinderfrost, Lionclaw, Jayfeather, Spiderleg, and Sorreltail, along with Foxpaw and Shiningpaw. The two apprentices, one russet, the other silver, leapt onto Spottedpaw, not even knowing that she was related to one of them. Spottedpaw wrestled, spitting like a mad cat, and Sagepaw leaped to her rescue, digging his claws into Foxpaw.

Too late, Willowheart saw where the real problem was.

"No!" she shrieked, racing down to the lakeshore.

Heatherwind, Breezewhisker, Berrynose, and Spiderleg had pinned Leopardstar between them and the lake. She was looking around wildly until she spotted Willowheart. She opened her mouth in a soundless cry for help.

"The island!" Willowheart yowled. "Leopardstar, swim!"

But even as the unusually-spotted golden tabby turned around, Berrynose leapt, his cream fur flashing as he pushed Leopardstar down under the water. It was like things moved in slow motion. Firestar whirled, and his eyes widened with astonishment when he saw the RiverClan leader go under.

"Berrynose, _no_!"

"Leopardstar!" Willowheart shrieked. She sprang into the water, colliding so hard with Berrynose that he flew off a tail-length and splashed into the lake. Willowheart splashed at the water, trying to find her leader, but already she could see the blood floating up from where Leopardstar's head must have collided with a rock. _She has one life left - she has one life left - she has one life left - just have to find her -_ She swam powerfully around the lake, even ducking under the salty water once or twice to search for that golden tabby fur. Finally, after what seemed like ages, she found it. Berrynose attempted to help, but she clawed him hard across the face, and knew it would leave a scar. As she dove under to retrieve Leopardstar and help her to get air, she heard Jayfeather cry, "_No_!" but didn't have time to think. She buried her muzzle in Leopardstar's scruff and hauled the golden tabby to the surface.

Jayfeather was there, hauling Willowheart and Leopardstar from the water. "Are you okay?" he asked in an undertone.

"Yes, I'm fine." She paused. "Thank you, Jayfeather."

"Sure, Willowheart, I -"

"She's not breathing!" came Mistyfoot's anguished yowl. All fighting had stopped. All cats, WindClan, ThunderClan, and RiverClan alike, gathered around Leopardstar's limp form. Mistyfoot was nosing it anxiously. There was a bloody wound on top of Leopardstar's head, and water was dribbling from her mouth.

"Move!" hissed Willowheart and Jayfeather at once, and the two of them, seeing and blind, were pressing down on Leopardstar's chest, pumping water from her system.

But all of it was to no avail, for she had already joined StarClan. She had died once drowning, and a second time from the wound on her head.

"No!" screamed Mistyfoot, a long and drawn-out scream that ended only when she had no air left. All of RiverClan lent their mournful yowls, and Jayfeather pushed his nose into Willowheart's fur at the sound.

When finally it fell away, Firestar spoke, his voice trembling. "Let all cats welcome the new leader of RiverClan...Mistyfoot."

Mistyfoot turned a frightened gaze on the flame-colored leader. "But - Firestar - I can't _do_ this!" Willowheart knew that Mistyfoot and Firestar knew each other of old.

Firestar's face hardened. "Would you have preferred Hawkfrost take the post?"

"Of course not, but he is dead!"

"I don't think you have a choice here," Onestar pointed out, but Mistyfoot whirled spitting on the WindClan leader.

"You shut up, you foxhearted piece of crow-food," she spat. "I have no use for the opinions of fox dung!" She turned to Willowheart now and took a deep breath. "I'll go to the Moonpool after tonight, when we will hold vigil for Leopardstar. Willowheart, you will attend as well."

Willowheart dipped her head shakily.

The two eldest warriors of the party, Mistyfoot and Rippletail, lifted Leopardstar's body and began carrying it back to camp. Before Willowheart followed, she dropped back to whisper in Jayfeather's ear.

"Did Spottedpaw or Shiningpaw get hurt?" she murmured urgently.

"I didn't smell any wounds on them," he answered her. "Listen, Willowheart -"

"Willowheart," said Reedwhisker meaningfully. He shot a glare at Jayfeather, which the medicine cat felt if not saw. Willowheart brushed her tail along Jayfeather's back before following after Reedwhisker.


	21. Twenty Fin

A dark fog of misery hung over the RiverClan camp that night.

The senior warriors sat Leopardstar's vigil with her. Blackclaw, Mistyfoot, and Mosspelt sat very close to her. Mistyfoot was lying down, rasping her tongue slowly along Leopardstar's pelt. Willowheart watched from afar, with the apprentices clustered unhappily around her. All six of them were experiencing the first loss of their lives, and there wasn't anything Willowheart could do to comfort them.

But as the moon rose even higher, Willowheart knew they had to get some sleep. She gave each of them two poppy seeds and allowed them to fall asleep in her own medicine den. They all curled up, and it warmed Willowheart's heart to see her kits fitting in so well here.

When she finally feel asleep, she was in a dreamland that had become unfamiliar to her; it was a green, grassy landscape, filled with many trickling streams that reflected the starlight.

_The starlight_.

She was in StarClan's hunting grounds.

Uncertainly, the medicine cat padded forward. "Is anyone here?" she called. "Please, is any cat here?"

"I am here," meowed a voice. Willowheart looked up sharply. To her shock, it was Feathertail; and even more shocking, the pretty pale tabby touched her nose to Willowheart's in welcome. But there was sadness in her eyes, as if she knew of something to come.

"Have you forgiven me?" Willowheart whispered.

"StarClan could never forget one of their own," Feathertail replied, "but, Willowheart, there is a change in the wind blowing. It comes quickly."

"What sort of change?"

"Follow me." Feathertail crooked her tail, and Willowheart padded after her. They came to the source of all the streams - a sparkling starlit pool. "Look in it," Feathertail instructed her.

Willowheart looked in it.

She gazed into it for many minutes, her eyes wide with horror and her blood running to ice. When it was over, she looked up fearfully at Feathertail. "He's not gone yet."

"But he is the least of your worries."

"I know."

"The future you just saw is not your path," Feathertail told her. "It depends upon the pawsteps of others. They will shape the future of all the Clans. Depending on the path they choose to take, the Clans may rise or fall, and no cat, not even those of StarClan, can change their decisions once made."

"So I can't stop it? If they take the wrong path?"

"You can never stop it," replied Feathertail grimly. "But you can help them along, you and others. Look into the pool, one last time."

Willowheart did so, and she saw a blurry landscape, shaking and rocking in the pool. Then, as if she were looking down from the stars, clouds suddenly were ushered onto the scene, covering her view of the land. Just like her vision before the battle - which she had thought afterwards had foretold Leopardstar's death - the clouds were bloodred.

Taking a deep shaky breath, Willowheart looked up at Feathertail. "Is there a prophecy?"

"No. Only a vision, and no cat expects you to work it out yet. There are few cats that you must share this with, Willowheart, and I am sure you will figure out who they are."

Willowheart nodded and sat back. Feathertail pressed comfortably against her fur. "No matter what path you take from here," Feathetrail meowed, "whether or not it is loyal, StarClan will always be with you."

The dappled silver medicine cat nodded, and Feathertail padded away with the sky. Her pawsteps left a path of stars behind her, and so did Willowheart's as she padded back off to her own life, full of questions, full of discovery.

**FIN**

**OH THANK GOD. IT'S OVER!**

**I know you guys waited a really, really long time for the completion of this story. I really hope you liked it, and yes, there will probably be a rewrite. And the rewrite will be a hell of a lot better! I'm rather fond of these last chapters, and I hope you are too.**

**StarClan bless you all.  
Gladewing**


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